Loving One Another

Posts tagged ‘fun’

Lucille is our ATV. We named our “all-terrain vehicle” after the popular 1950’s to ’70’s comedian, Lucille Ball, because she has a red head and she’s a “ball!” Look carefully at that photo and you can see Bob, TazE (our Boston Terrier), and me… ready to have a Montana springtime ball!

There I am!!

Just as a ship is launched to the sea,Bob & I launched Lucille on the mountains today.It’s not her maiden voyage; she’s a veteran for sure.But it was her first 2020 opportunity to play.

On our way to North Meadowcreekin the Tobacco Root Mountains

We went with two other couples;It’s a good thing we had them alongBecause when Bob got stuck in the snow,Rex was prepared for what went wrong

He had a long rope, and equipment galore-So he pulled old Lucille out in a flash.Us gals kept our 6 feet distance and watched.We didn’t want to intrude or do something brash.

CG Feldman helped pull our ATV back to safety after Rex Hocking used his four-wheeler and a lot of rope to pull our "Lucille" out… she had high-centered in the snow! pic.twitter.com/MMLIIarvGl

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The season of Christmas is one of my favorites.It’s a time to socialize with friends and to shop.It’s a time to enjoy the great outdoors on the slopes.It’s a time for cards and cookies and eat ’til you pop!

Last night we attended the annual Christmas party that the Madison Valley Medical Center sponsors for its staff and volunteers in the Auxiliary. Bob & I went with our dear neighbors, the Welnas.

Bob & Sue are the greatest neighbors ever!

The Inn was decked out and ready for us. Must have been 100 folks! All part of the Madison Valley Medical Center. We are blessed to have these facilities (hospital and steak house) in/near our little town of Ennis.

This lovely restaurant in McAllister is just 7 miles out of Ennis. They did a super job serving so many people!

This is Ruth, one of our most faithful, long-term auxiliary members. She really gets into the spirit of the season!

Each staff member or auxiliary lady was allowed to bring a guest. My friend, Leah, brought her daughter, Chris. They are such fun!

And now, it’s a lovely day at Big Sky… like I said, “time to enjoy the great outdoors on the slopes.” If you are a ski nut like my husband Bob is, this beautiful photo taken by my friend, Susan Phillips, will start ya salivating!

But I am going to sit by the fire, drink hot chocolate, and write Christmas cards this morning. This is the kind of picture that starts my juices flowing!

What are you up to?What’s your favorite kind of fun this time of the year?Have some “Christmas Time Fun”and tell me all about it!

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Today was a beautiful blue-sky day
to go 4-Wheeling on LUCILLE
(our red-headed ATV who is a BALL)

We drove in our pick-up pulling Lucille on a trailer
to the Macatee Bridge area about 25 miles south of Ennis.
There we met friends, unloaded the ATVs
and headed up into the Gravelly Range
past the Talc Mine.

The day could not have been more beautiful!

We had our bear spray with us.
We were headed to the Cottonwood area
where a couple of hunters
were mauled by Grizzleys last week.

There were 6 guys (That’s Bob on the right)
and 3 of us gals

Yes, when we got up to 8,000 ft. level at the look out,
it was time to bundle up!
I covered my ears,
Barb covered her neck,
and Caroline covered her head and neck!

Barb’s dog, Charley, was not afraid of the cliffs.

Our TazE stuck mostly to the rocky lower levels.
Both dogs enjoyed the freedom to explore.

Our goal was to see the Aspen gold-
Autumn in the Rocky Mountains is a spectacular time of year.
The landscape became more beautiful the farther up we traveled.

This is what we traveled up the Gravelly Range to the Ruby Valley to see!!

When we got up to Monument Ridge at 9,587 feet,
it was gorgeous, but really cold as the wind
came right off the left-over snow
on the higher mountains.

Black Butte had snow tucked in all its crevices.

Caroline bundled up to stay warm.

Coming back down, we made a potty stop and let the pups do a little more roaming.

Barb, Don & Charley were ready to be on our way.

We passed at least two dozen of these harvested tree stacks
on our way to and fro.
The forest service has been very busy
cutting down dead trees and clearing out areas
near the road that might cause a fire hazard.

Besides the gorgeous golden aspen groves,
my other favorite scene is this red barn on the Ruby River.
Isn’t it gorgeous?

We passed some grazing cattle
before following the signs and our friend, Chuck,
who led us back to our vehicles
where we loaded the ATVs and headed home.

See the cool beaver dam we passed on the way down?

Back down in the Madison Valley,
the Madison River,
and the Macatee take-out,
we were ready to return home
and share our great trip with you.

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You Have the Power

This post is dedicated to my #1 Grandson.
He recently graduated from college,
received his well-earned diploma,
and has a couple of part-time jobs,
equaling 100% employment.
It was not an easy road,
but he has tenacity…
He stuck with it.
He did it!

I am so proud of him!

Happiness is living life true
In a way that allows you
To be all God made you to be
And doing it on a path of integrity.

No one says it will be easy.
Sometimes it’s light and breezy,
But mostly it’s just hard work
And determination not to shirk.

So, run the race of life with grit.
Set your goal and stick to it.
When times are tough, keep going –
You crossed the finish line knowing

You Have the Power!

Congratulations, Mike!

Did you, or do you have a person in your life who used their grit and tenacity to achieve a goal in spite of all odds? This post is for you!

And if you are in the midst of a struggle – wondering if the blood, sweat, tears, and heartache, setbacks and discouragements are worth it. Believe in your goals. Believe in yourself. Stick with it.

Gottfried from the Banter Republic blog wrote a delightful post today. I chuckled. I sighed. I related. But, I related at a distance. He is 6’5′ an I am 5′ nothing on a good day. So, I decided to have some fun with his post.

There is a permanent bias towards tall short people. For some short people or fat people, people are quick to get on a high horse when you call out the obvious. But giants and shrimps get no such protection. I always sometimes am at the mercy of poorly constructed jokes. Talking about “you’re tall short for nothing”. How about you? What’s your excuse for being the same size as a skyscraper’s ladder side stool?

Joseph: How tall are you?

Gottfried: 6’5 Jan: 5′ nothing

Joseph: Do you play basketball? miniature golf?

Gottfried: Nope Jan: Yup

Joseph: What a waste! How can you be that tall and not play basketball?

Gottfried: Do you play mini-golf? No? But here we are. Jan: Yup!

Yes, the rumors are true, the air up down here here is a lot fresher stinks. One of the upsides of being a giant shrimp, away from being able not being able to reach the top shelves at supermarkets (subtle reminder we’re not obligated to assist you) (subtle reminder – I need your help!), I also don’t get to breathe fresher, unadulterated air. No guessing why brief tall people are constantly making a fuss, their nostrils are clogged (they’re tired of bending down to me).

I am not your selfie stick. If I do choose, out of the magnanimity of my good heart, I could take charge of selfies (I don’t… selfies are waaay too close with my short arms!). If I’m not feeling it, leave me alone, nobody asked you to come here a minion (face it, you’d be lost without me… if all people were tall, you’d be no big deal!). Oh and yeah, when you “play” punches us, it actually hurts Ya, me, too. Being huge small doesn’t reduce the pain. One of these days we’ll hit back and land you in the hospital (Small but mighty, watch out, my punch hits you where it hurts most!!).

I’ll start charging for hugs. There’s a common misconception that giants minis are your life-sized teddy bears your own little childhood teddy bear. Kindly shelve that idea ! Well, actually, I don’t mind – I like the hugs!. It does help if you smell nice though Yes!, so replace your deodorant and we’ll see. I’ll tell you this though, I’m tired of people hugging my tummy the top of my head. Can you guys like “grow up”? No, grown ups don’t have near as much fun!

I get tired too. For my little nieces and nephews, if I’ve carried you once, I can’t do it ten more times, don’t be a little shit. (I don’t have any of those little shits in my family!) For the older folk, the same applies, the last thing on my mind is to carry y’all on my back. (Couldn’t if I tried… and the good news is nobody expects me to). I remember this one time I scored a match-winning goal for my Department and the entire bench ran onto the pitch to celebrate with me. I found myself under a pile of close to twenty bodies. Long story short, I nearly died that day. (Good news is no team ever tried piling on top of me – if they had I WOULD be dead!!)

My dress sense isn’t off. You don’t just know the struggle of finding items of clothing and shoes that fit. (You’re right – I don’t! But, my pants are always too long! Hemmiing is easier than trying to add inches.) Don’t be that asshole that’s counting the number of my outfits. Talking about “you like this shoe oh”. My friend, it’s my only shoe, shut up. I have to make all my shoes, plus they cost a fortune. It’s not that I planned to look homeless, it’s the market. (Nanni, nanni, nanni – I can buy the display shoes; they always put size 5’s on the rack. They’re cuter!!)

There are many positive being a giant shrimp. You can randomly give someone a knock during a parade and they’ll never guess it’s you (you do it from on top, I can do it from underneath). But know this, Giants Shrimpy folks are some of the kindest, warmest, most caring and all-around welcoming people you’ll ever meet (That’s an area of commonality, for sure!). The idea isn’t really to talk down on you, it’s just how it is. (I talk up to you gladly!) It does help that people “lookup” to me and I promise to not disappoint. (I love looking up at you. One of my most fun boyfriends in high school was 6’4″ … they called us Mutt & Jeff. Mom had to put a stool out on the porch so I could reach up high enough for a good-night kiss.)

Get yourself a giant (Not a bad idea! Get yourself a shrimp!)

Gottfried JanBeek

Hope you had as much fun reading this as I did responding to Gottfried, the Jolly Giant!